


The Evolution of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers' Relationship

by Katie_Kat



Series: The Evolution of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers' Relationship [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Daddy Issues, Lots of Arguing, M/M, Natasha is the queen of advice, Slow Build, Steve being just as big of a jerk, tony being a jerk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-15 19:57:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11813118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katie_Kat/pseuds/Katie_Kat
Summary: They didn’t get along at first. After dozens of Avengers missions, near death encounters and getting over the urge to smash each other’s faces in, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark learn to tolerate one another. Eventually they actually grow to like each other. Then they had to go and complicate things by falling in love.Title is a work in progress.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo I haven’t written fanfiction in YEARS, but I had this little thing in mind so I thought I’d give it a go. This story loosely follows the MCU timeline after Avengers I with some influences coming from the cartoons/comics, though less the comics because I haven’t actually read them, but only know a few things that happen. Obviously some things aren’t going to completely follow the MCU, but I’ll try my best to tie this story in as smoothly as possible. This is also the first segment of a three part series that I have in mind, so any feedback will be very much appreciated.

When the Avengers Initiative was proposed, Tony knew it was a bad idea. Getting a team of brash, cocky hot-headed super heroes to fight together and defend humanity was one thing, but getting them to behave in a civilized manner outside of battle was a whole other challenge.

Surprisingly, the first one to give into this insane plan was Banner of all people. He’d mentioned something about not being able to escape the S.H.I.E.L.D’s watchdogs no matter how hard he tried, so he might as well learn to live among them. Honestly, Tony just thought that he missed social interaction. Natasha agreed to join the team, saying that – her words exactly, ‘it’ll be easier to babysit you morons if we’re living under the same roof’. Tony didn’t know the spy very well, but he figured that was code for ‘easier to monitor this reckless band of destructive, testosterone driven maniacs for S.H.I.E.L.D’. Once The Widow was in, it didn’t take much convincing for her irritating other half to jump on the bandwagon. Even Thor stuck around, though he sometimes disappeared to Asgard for whatever Demi-godly duties he was needed for. Tony still had no idea how he so effortlessly crossed dimensions the way someone would walk from one room into another room. The rational genius called it witchcraft, just so that he didn’t have to admit to not knowing the science behind it.

Of course the last to join this Frat House of Terrors was none other than Captain Killjoy.

Even though they’d more or less made nice after defeating Loki and his weird army of alien-robot creatures, the two heroes were far from friends. Barely allies.

Still, after weeks of convincing him to leave his crappy little apartment in Brooklyn and move into Avenger’s Tower with the big guns, Tony managed to get the stubborn super soldier to take up residence.

All it took was parting with a vintage Harley that the billionaire never used anyway, because duh he was a billionaire and he could just buy another. That, and he never really had a thing for motorcycles anyway. Cars were much flashier, and Tony Stark loved to overcompensate.

He’d even spray painted the bike to match the Captain’s patriotic colour scheme, which Steve was less than impressed by, but took the peace offering anyway and settled into his new home.

That being said, the tension between the two alpha dogs was still far from being water under the bridge. They still got under each other’s skin more often than not, but at least they could co-exist in the same building without breaking into a fight.

Well, most of the time.

***

The sudden blaring sound of the Avenger’s Tower alarm had the team gearing up and rushing into the hangar, ready to go face the day’s newest threat to the human population.

One by one they shuffled into the Avenjet, taking off in record time while agent Coulson quickly briefed them on the situation at hand.

From the agent’s description, New York’s famous Coney Island was currently being attacked by an enormous, rampaging iguana.The team thought that this was a joke until the Avenjet flew across the skyscrapers and they saw exactly what Coulson had been describing.

A giant lizard creature ripping the tapered top off of the Drop Tower, it’s huge, lashing tail taking a good chunk out of the Cyclone as it let out an ear piercing shriek.

They really shouldn’t have been surprised. At this point after going up against creatures from other universes, immortal magical beings and armies of world domination-obsessed super robots, nothing came as a surprise to these heroes.

Fighting giant lizard monsters was just part of the regime.

“Okay, who invited Godzilla to the party?” Tony ever so sarcastically remarked, from the co-pilot’s seat of the Avenjet.

“I’ve received confirmation that the island has been fully evacuated.” Came their Captain’s commanding voice as he shifted the plane into autopilot and grabbed his shield, making his way to the back of the airship. “Avengers, our job is to take him out while keeping him as far away from the city as possible.” He said before jumping out of the plane, freefalling down until he could reach out and grab onto the scales.

“One of these days, Cap’s gonna wish he wore a parachute.” Clint muttered from his perch by the edge of the open airlock, loading explosive arrows into his bow, rapid firing at the 40 feet tall mega iguanid while Tony rushed out of the ship, fully decked out in his armor and began shooting repulsor beams at the lizard.

The Avengers sprang into action to stave the scaly beast from bringing his tirade to the city’s center. It took a big, heavy step, structural supports cracking and shattering as the beast lashed out. They were hitting their target dead on, but the lizard’s scaly hide was thick and their attacks were just seeming to piss him off even more.

Steve caught his shield as it bounced off of the creature’s haunches and propelled back to him, widening his stance.

“Avengers! Assume battle positions alpha nine one!” He shouted over the destruction.

The team scuttled into formation at their leaders order, scrambling to get into their designated position as the giant lizard monster swiped its long, bulky arm around and toppled another building, the rubble falling into the concrete and erupting into a cloud of dust and asphalt.

Hawkeye was first to act, shooting the beast’s feet with a couple of his ice arrows, encasing the powerful legs in a thick tomb of ice that immobilized him. Once the target was frozen in place, Steve knelt down with his shield overhead, ready to launch Natasha up at the enormous lizard. She sprinted, jumping onto his shield with a somersault, flipping majestically into the air and onto the lizard’s scaled back when the Captain boosted her up. She grabbed onto the rough skin, fingernails chipping as she struggled to climb onto its shoulder while it thrashed.

“Did I ever mention how much I hate reptiles?” She said in disgust as she climbed up its neck, shooting at its beady yellow eyes with her widows’ bite while Iron Man flew up to the opposing flank and shot a barrage of repulsor beams into its side, but the creature was barely affected by the stings. Instead, their attacks just seemed to be pissing him off.

“This isn’t working. This thing’s skin is composed of extremely compact calcium carbonate. It’s like shooting at a damn mountain range, our attacks are barely making a dent.” He said into the com, narrowly avoiding a roller coaster cart as it was flung towards him. “We’re going to need something more powerful. Anybody got some C4 on them?”

“Iron Man, you are not setting a bomb off in the middle of the city, that’s insane.” Came the authoritative response in his ear.

“You got a better idea then, Cap? Because I’d love to hear it.”

“We keep shooting at it. Weaken it. Even mountains can crumble. Stay in position.”  

Tony scoffed and flew away from the thrashing beast, hovering above ground. “Yeah, that’s boring. I’m going with my plan.” He said, and propelled himself towards one of the park warehouses in search of explosives.

“Iron Man, you do not have clearance for that plan. I repeat, no clearance!” Steve pressed his finger to the com by the side of his head and spoke firmly but Tony, as per usual, didn’t bat an eye as he continued with his own agenda.

Steve cursed, shield held up to block his face as more rubble was thrown towards him, exploding into tiny fragments of dust as it collided with the vibranium.

Tony flew by Clint as he shot another explosive arrow that exploded by the creatures face, which made it screech loudly.

“Where’s Stark going?” He asked, notching another arrow.

“Probably off to do something stupid.” Natasha muttered, front flipping off of the thing’s shoulder and landed neatly beside Clint as he flew by on the Hoverbike.

“Not stupid, genius.” Tony shot back moments later as he flew out of the warehouse with a huge box of heavy duty fireworks. “Let’s kill this thing in style.”

Tony kicked his boots to propel himself faster through the air, flying upwards in a helix around the creature as it flailed its arms, trying to swat at him like a fly. He waited until it opened its mouth to let out another screech and then tossed the box of pyrotechnics into its gaping maw, shooting a repulsor beam down its throat.

“Take cover!” Steve shouted when he saw smoke pluming around the jagged teeth, raising his shield over his head.

The beast screamed in agony as the fireworks sizzled inside its belly, the muscles rippling under its thick, scaly hide as the explosives went off. There was a loud booming noise, and then suddenly big, meaty lizard chunks were raining down from the sky, coating everything within the radius of the park in viscous green sludge.

Cleanup was going to be a nightmare, but at least the threat was neutralized.

***

Back at the compound, the team made their way into the tower, covered in gross lizard goop as they shuffled into the lounge room.

Tony wrinkled his nose in disgust as the slime covered armor peeled off of him. “Jarvis, send my armor to the workshop for a full decontamination.”

“Right away sir.”

Bruce’s eyes darted up over his book on advanced quantum physics, looking at his fellow team members. He’d stayed behind on this mission because, quoting Director Fury, one rampaging green rage monster was more than enough to deal with.

It was a low blow that stung at first, but honestly, turning into the Hulk put a great deal of strain on his body, so he wasn’t too bummed out about sitting this one out.

Seeing his friends’ disgusted faces as they tried to wipe away the stinking sludge made him especially glad not to have participated in this particular fight.

“Rough day?” He asked when he caught Tony’s gaze.

“I’ve had worse.” Tony muttered and gave a small shrug, about to head off to his quarters for a much needed shower when a shoulder roughly grabbed him and spun him around to face a very disgruntled looking Captain.

“What the hell was that, Tony.” He hissed, fists clenched at his sides. “I gave you distinct orders, which you blatantly disregarded. Do you have any idea how much damage you caused?”

“Less damage than if we followed your plan and kept firing useless attacks at it.” Tony shot back, assuming a defensive position.

“We had a plan.”

“If I remember correctly, the plan was to keep the Godzilla wannabe away from the main city. Which I did.” Tony pointed out in his usual snarky tone, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You disobeyed my command.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t care.”

“I’m the leader of this team. You can’t just go off on your own like that and put everyone in danger.”

“Didn’t you read my file? I don’t exactly play well with others.”

They’d been inching closer throughout their display of dominance, almost nose to nose now as they stared each other down. Tension was growing rapidly, and it was just a matter of time now until that thread snapped and the two Avengers were at each other’s throat.

Then came the soothing drawl of Jarvis’s British accent echoing through the speakers.

“I’m sorry to interrupt Sir, but Captain Rogers is needed in the debriefing room.”

Just like that, the tension mostly ceased, although the two men continued hovering in each other’s faces, staring each other down like it was a death match. Tony was the first to break the silence.

“Better go run off to Directory Fury before you get a time out, soldier.” He sneered before turning around and stomped his way back to his quarters, heels clicking loudly against the polished concrete.

Steve clenched his jaw as he retreated in the opposite direction.

***

After the debriefing, the super soldier made his way down to the gym, taking his frustrations out on the rough textiles of the Kevlar punching bag. His anger was so built up that he’d already torn the seams of the sturdy leather with his punches, spilling a steady stream of sand on the floor. He was punching with such ferocity, that his knuckles were red and bloody beneath the gauze.

Ever since their first meeting almost a year ago, Tony Stark continued to press his buttons in ways that even Steve’s controlled temper couldn’t ignore.

The man was arrogant – he threw a right hook to the side of the bag, insubordinate– another punch to the center of the swaying sack, selfish, an uppercut this time --

“Still blowing off steam?”

Steve slowed his punches when he heard the voice, turning his head to see Natasha, freshly showered and dressed comfortably in a pair of leggings and a grey hoodie.

“Still haven’t learned not to sneak up on people?” He shot back through heavy pants, reaching for his towel and water bottle and took a hefty swig.

Natasha smiled back at him, which served as enough of an answer to that rhetorical question. “I know you and Stark have your differences, but you can’t get into a shouting match after every mission.”

“He disobeyed protocol. We had a formation, and he just went off on his own.” Steve vented, his muscles rigid with leftover rage from his earlier encounter with the man in question.

“Well, to be fair his plan did work.” Natasha shot back with a raise of her shoulders.

Steve exhaled, wiping some of the sweat from his brow. “I take it you haven’t come here to defend Tony’s reckless actions?”

“I’m just saying that maybe instead of fighting him all the time, you two should maybe try to get along?”

Steve threw the sweat drenched towel over his shoulder, breath evening out as he stared her down. He’d made numerous attempts to get on better terms with the self-proclaimed genius billionaire, and all of his efforts so far had turned up fruitless. Natasha seemed to read his expression as if all his thoughts were written on his skin. She had an eerie way of always knowing what you were thinking.

“Look, Stark’s not the easiest man to get along with. He’s a hot-heated, self-righteous and destructive little bastard.” She started off, but then her expression softened. “But he’s not a bad person once you break through his armor and actually get to know him.”

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do all these months?” Steve rebutted, his tone a mix of frustration, teetering on the edge of desperation.

Natasha walked over to him, crossing her arms over her chest and leaned into the battered punching bag, reaching one arm out to touch Steve’s shoulder.

“It is possible to get on his good side, you know. You just have to earn his respect.”

Steve scoffed at that. A dry, humourless laugh. “And how am I supposed to get Tony Stark to respect Captain America?”

“You’re not.” She said simply, and Steve raised a quizzical eyebrow at the cryptic response, which urged the assassin to continue. “To him, Captain America is just a flashy costume. Stark doesn’t respect the suit, he respects the person inside of the suit.” She went on, and Steve’s eyes snapped back to look at her. 

“You won’t win him over by being Captain America.” She said simply, her lips quirking into a knowing grin.  “You have to earn his respect by being Steve Rogers.”

With that, she left him to continue his vicious onslaught against the punching bag, giving his shoulder a friendly squeeze in parting.

Steve savoured her wise words, wondering how he was going to get Tony to see the man behind the star spangled suit.

***

The next morning, Tony zombie-walked his way down to the communal kitchen space, his body instinctively heading towards the thick, rich smell of hazelnut dark roast out of habit.

He poured the coffee into a red mug with a gold handle, cradling it like a priceless gem with both hands before bringing it to his lips and took a long sip. The hot liquid burned his tongue on the way down but he didn’t care. The self-indulgent super genius tilted his head back, letting out a satisfied groan of pleasure as he felt the much needed caffeine boost.

“The conqueror of giant lizard people lives!” Came a snort of laughter that belongs to agent Barton, who was sitting at the edge of the barstool, shoveling cereal into his mouth. “And here we thought you were going to stay in your hole and sulk all day.”

Tony shot the ex-con a murderous glare before glancing over to see Steve by the kitchen sink, wearing neon pink rubber gloves and scrubbing grease out of a frying pan while the rest of the team sat around the table eating breakfast. He still didn’t quite understand why Steve opted to do the dishes when they had a perfectly functional dishwasher.

He took a seat between Natasha and Bruce, still dependently clinging to his coffee mug. “I spent the whole night working on armor improvements, suit upgrades, weapon designs…” He saw the pointed look Cap sent him and quickly explained. “Avenger weapons. Not big, terrifying military guns or anything like that.”

Steve raised his eyebrows, humming as he scrubbed at a few plates. “Well your breakfast is cold by now.”

Tony made a face, arching an eyebrow. “Breakfast, what breakfast?” He asked, confused when Steve set a plate of perfectly cooked eggs, bacon, and a couple slices of toast in front of him. He was the perfect soldier and an excellent housewife, geez, the serum really did give him everything. “Since when do I get breakfast?”

“Steve usually makes you a plate, but most of the time you don’t come out of your hole until way past noon so you never notice.” Came Natasha’s sneaky reply, green eyes shining at him disapprovingly.

Tony quirked an eyebrow at her, then shifted his gaze towards Steve who just shrugged. “I make breakfast for the whole team, it’s nothing special.” He quickly dismissed, turning the oven off.

Tony chased away any ‘mother hen’ comments that he would have made and instead pushed the plate away. “As sweet and domestic as that is Cap, I’ll stick to my coffee and occasional Kale and green apple smoothies’ thanks.” He said, pushing away from the table with his coffee in hand.

The post-mission tension between them normally fizzled by now, but even still Tony wasn’t about to accept Steve’s breakfast offering, still just a little spiteful over last night’s argument.

Steve slipped the neon gloves off and set them on the counter, catching Tony in the hall before the grumpy billionaire could make his escape.

“Tony, wait.” He called, just a bit surprised when Tony actually stopped and turned around to look at him.

“What, not done reprimanding me for what a disgrace I am to the team? Or did I do something else that Mr. Goody-Two-Shows Captain America disapproves of?” He spat in his usual snarky tone of voice.

Steve swallowed his tongue and quelled his own rising temper. “No, I’m not going yell at you. Your actions yesterday were reckless and impulsive, but your plan did work.” He said, surprising himself with how gentle his words came out. Judging by Tony’s expression, the other was just as shocked.

Steve hesitated for a moment, biting his bottom lip. “Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me today.”

Tony visibly froze, blinking at the super soldier as if his brain was trying to compute the words that were just spoken to him.

“You want to go out to lunch.” He reiterated slowly, drawing out every syllable. “With me.”

Steve shrugged his shoulders. “Well, yeah. I thought it might be a good way to get to know one another. Maybe put a stop to our endless bickering.”

Tony remained silent, his eyes narrowed. Steve sighed.

“Look, if you don’t want to I underst-“

“Yeah, okay.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to blink, because honestly Tony had rejected every other offer of comradery he’d ever made so he hadn’t expected this time to be different.

Realizing the silence had gone on for an uncomfortably long time, Steve just offered a tiny smile and a nod. “Okay. Great. I’ll meet you back here at noon.” He said before returning to the kitchen.

The seeds of friendship have finally been planted, now Steve just had to hope he could grow them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve try to see eye to eye over lunch, but they get interrupted when the city falls victim to another invasion from our favorite iron dictator. However, there is some progress to their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am absolutely terrible at writing dramatic and interesting fight scenes, so be warned. I am not that great with elaborate dialogue.

Tony would have never expected in a million years that Captain righteous and almighty would ever accept him ignoring command and just going ahead with his gut instinct, so the fact that he’d acknowledged that at all was a shock in itself. On top of that to ask him to lunch? That was definitely new.

Tony wasn’t entirely sure why he’d said yes to hanging out. Steve had made countless offers when he first moved in, trying to worm his way onto the billionaire’s good side, but he’d given up after being shot down a dozen times.

But his dislike of the national hero wasn’t only due to their first head-butting on the Helicarrier when the Chitauri invaded.

Howard had always gone on about what a great man Captain America was.

He was brave, commendable, an exemplary soldier, and twice the man Tony Stark would ever be. When he wasn’t focused on running his shady weapons business, instead of spending his free time with his impressionable son, he was off leading expeditions in search of the fallen war hero.

If you asked Howard Stark what his greatest accomplishment was it wouldn’t be his multi-billion dollar company, or his incredible technological advances and it sure as hell wouldn’t be his overwhelmingly disappointing son.

Howard’s greatest creation was Captain America.

So yeah, Tony might be irrationally pointing the finger at Steve for his major daddy issues, but could anyone really blame him?

Still, despite their initial rough start, he was prepared to be civil. Steve had gone out of his way to apologize (sort of) for his behavior the other day, and despite popular opinion, Tony Stark wasn’t a complete asshat. He could humor the super soldier for a few hours, especially if it meant that the team would lay off him for giving the guy such a hard time.

Tony spent his morning fiddling on his StarkPad, working on new inventions and consuming an endless stream of coffee, courtesy of his favorite artificially encrypted butler.

When lunchtime came around, he tore himself away from his work and went off to take a shower, scrubbing the remnants of last night’s motor oil off of his body.

He dressed himself in something proper, but casual – just a white button up with a charcoal vest thrown over top, accented by a single gold chain dangling from his left pocket.

Tony switched out his usual colour lenses for a simple pair of thick, black rimmed glasses with clear lenses.

They weren’t prescription, but hey, they looked cool. And they suited his aesthetic.

He emerged from his penthouse, fashionably late, and rode the elevator down to the main communal floor. Steve was waiting for him in the hall just outside of the kitchen, where they’d agreed to meet up, shoulders hunched and foot tapping against the floor.

For once he wasn’t dressed like an outdated grandpa in khakis and a drab pastel shirt, which Tony appreciated because there was no way that he would be seen in public with anyone who dressed like they were still in the 1940s.

Thankfully, Steve must have been aware of Tony’s unfathomable public image, and seemingly made an effort to dress like someone from this century.

Instead of his usual rags, the soldier was dressed simply in a white t-shirt with a leather jacket thrown on top, and a pair of tight fitting, dark blue jeans.

Really tight fitting, Tony remarked with a straying glance at the super soldier’s behind.

Tony might not like the guy’s personality, but there was no denying that he had an incredibly hot body.

Steve’s posture immediately straightened when he saw his teammate walking towards him, hands tucked into the pockets of his leather jacket, a mildly irritated expression on his face.

Mildly irritated seemed to be Steve’s default expression, so Tony didn’t really make anything of it.

“You’re late.” Steve said, his tone dry but not offended, like he already knew Tony wouldn’t bother to show up on time.

“You’re early.” The tardy robotics engineer countered with an almost playful smirk, falling into step beside the blond soldier.

Steve’s mouth quirked into a tiny smirk as they walked towards the elevator, strolling next to Tony. “Fair enough.”

***

The diner that Steve had in mind was only a few blocks from the tower, so instead of taking a car they decided to go on foot That was one of the great things about living in the heart of New York City, most places were within walking distance from the tower.

The walk there was mostly spent in silence, aside from a bit of small talk about Tony’s latest project which Steve only pretended to hold an interest in because honestly, he had no clue what the hell Tony was talking about.

Something about quantum ion projectiles and magnetic propulsion fields… Honestly, Steve probably had a better chance of understanding him if the genius was speaking Chinese.

Thankfully he was spared from any more techno-jargon as they turned the street corner and arrived at their destination.

They got to the little restaurant that Steve frequented often judging by the owner’s friendly and enthusiastic greeting.

Steve showed Tony to his usual table, tucked away in the corner by the window.

The diner was just some hole in the wall nestled between a corner store and a coin wash. Not exactly the nicest establishment, but the food was good, the atmosphere was quiet, and the owners were nice so Steve usually came here when he found some time to himself.

Tony looked around the tiny dining space, obviously trying to hold in any critiques about the place. Steve could imagine that Tony was incredibly underwhelmed by the old-style diner, considering what he was accustomed to, being a billionaire and all.

“Well this is…quaint.” He murmured, struggling to find the least offensive way to describe Steve’s favorite diner as he fiddled with the tacky red and white checkered table cloth.

“I know it’s probably not what you’re used to, but it’s nice.” He promised, resting his elbows on the table top

“Besides, I’m not exactly into the whole five star dining scene.” Steve said, lacing his fingers together. “Too rich for my blood.”

Tony shrugged his shoulders and grabbed for the menu, screening through its contents. “Honestly, neither am I. But my investment brokers love to be waited on.” He muttered, reading through the lunch options.

It had your typical diner food – burgers, fries, shakes, and the whole shebang. Tony wasn’t opposed to the simple menu. Who didn’t like the classic burger and fries combo anyway?

“They serve drinks here? Or is that too rich for your blood too.” He muttered, folding the menu to look through the list of beverages.

“Isn’t it a little early to start drinking?” Steve answered ruefully.

“You never heard of a brunch cocktail?” Tony shot back with a little eyebrow wriggle, but couldn’t find anything even remotely alcoholic on the list of drinks so he gave up his search and just set the menu back down.

There was a little awkward moment of silence as the two superheroes twiddled their thumbs, neither one really knowing how to strike up a conversation with the other.

Tony was the first to break the tension.

“So, are you going to tell me why you invited me to lunch?” He started, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the stiff but surprisingly not uncomfortable plastic chair. “Don’t tell me you actually wanted my company.”

“I told you that I wanted to get to know you better.” He replied, ignoring the bored tone interlacing the other man’s words.

“You could have ‘gotten to know me’ back home, I don’t see why you went through the trouble of taking me out.” Tony said, making air quotes as he spoke.

“Friends go to lunch together.” Steve remarked with a roll of his shoulders.

Tony scoffed, leaning back further in his chair, balancing the flimsy seat on its two back legs for a moment before dropping forward. “I don’t know if you noticed Cap, but you and I aren’t exactly friends.”

Steve knew that there was truth in Tony’s statement, but he hadn’t expected them to sound so discouraging.

“No, we’re not.” He agreed with a sigh, pausing briefly before speaking again. “But I’d like to be.”

That answer made Tony pause and narrow his eyes, like he was searching the World War II veteran for some sort of ulterior motive. In his experience, people didn’t just want to be his friend without cause. Especially when they’d made it blatantly obvious that they didn’t like him.

“Why?” He asked, as if trying to fathom why a wholesome, straight-edged guy like Steve seemed so desperate for his friendship.

Usually when people were trying to get in his good books it was because they wanted something, but Steve was far too righteous and selfless to want him for his money, that much was clear.

And it’s not like he had a shortage of friends. The rest of the team got along with him just fine, and a whole bunch of other people practically worshiped the ground he walked on. Literally. Steve even had friends outside of the Avengers, like Will Samson, or whatever that guy’s name was. Tony couldn’t understand why he was so hung up on gaining his affections too.

“Because we’re a team, Tony.” The super soldier answered simply, breaking Tony from his train of thought. “I’m not asking that we become best friends over night, but we should at least stop hating each other. All of this pointless arguing really brings down the morale. I need teammates that I can trust, and who trust me in return.”

Tony was about to reply with some witty response about this being an elaborate ruse to get him to play nice with the team, but he was cut off by the sound of terrorized screaming.

Both of them glanced out the window and suddenly saw a car crashing through the wall of the building opposite them, sending out an explosion of shattered glass and bricks onto the street.  

Steve was out of his seat in an instance, rushing out of the diner and out towards the chaos as he usually did. Tony, not quite so brash, rolled back his sleeve to reveal his StarkWatch. He pressed a sequence of buttons on the device, twisting the face of the watch and rolled it over his fist, encasing his hand in a thin layer of vibranium glove with a repulsor on his palm. Once armed, he sprinted off after the Captain.

The streets were filled with hundreds of heavily built robots marching in sync, bullets firing from the guns mounted onto their shoulders.

Tony noticed a familiar green hooded silhouette standing at the forefront of the iron battalion and recognized the villain immediately as Victor von Doom.

“Hey!” He shouted, holding the base of his arm by his elbow to absorb some of the shock as he fired a repulsor beam from his gauntlet. The energy beam shot Doom right in the back of the head, his body going rigid as he slowly turned to face them with an expression of malice on his metal mug. “Shouldn’t you be bothering Richards or something? I thought he was your greatest nemesis, stealing your girl and all that.”

Doom sent a murderous glare his way and raised his hand up in their direction. The army of doombots behind him arranged themselves into line, guns readying to aim at them.

Steve ripped the door off of a car when they opened fire, lunging for Tony’s wrist and pulled him behind the sheet of metal as the bullets ricocheted off of the frame. “Are you sure taunting him is the best idea when you’re armor-less and I don’t have my shield?” He said, holding the car door like he would his shield, but it wasn’t made of vibranium alloy, and these weren’t your run of the mill ammunition.

“Who says I don’t have my armor.” Tony countered, pressing another sequence of buttons into his wristwatch.

Less than a minute later, pieces of the Iron Man suit were flying towards them, molding seamlessly around Tony’s frame. So that’s what he’d been working on last night. Tony’s helm clicked into place over his face, the eyes lighting up in an electric blue.

“Avengers, Assemble!” He called into the com before propelling forward, shooting Doom with a rush of energy blasts that exploded around his feet.

Without suit or shield, Steve was more vulnerable than usual, but he still had his combat skills to back him up. He worked on taking out the doombots, smashing into their metal skulls, pummelling them until they were nothing more than broken piles of metal and sparking wires.

“Fools.” Doom called out over the sounds of screaming and gunfire, laughing at them in the maniacal way that super villains often did. “You really think that you can defeat my army with just you two pathetic things?”

“Probably.” Tony said defiantly, flying over Doom and took out another half dozen androids with his repulsors. “But it’s not just the two of us, is it?”

Doom looked confused for a moment before realization hit him as a huge, green mass of gamma radiation and muscle crash through the side of a sky scraper with a loud roar, picking up his robots and tossing them around like they were little rag dolls.

Steve threw another robot over his shoulder into the ground as it made a grab for him, smashing its torso in with his foot, and then reached his hand out to catch the red white and blue disc flying towards him. Natasha and Clint zoomed over him on their Hoverbike, and Steve shot them a two fingered salute before jumping into the real action.

He threw his shield with a heavy grunt, watching it ricochet off of a lamp post and then bounce through the crowd of robots like a life sized game of ping pong, exploding them on impact. He caught the shield when it bounced back towards him, trying to search the crowd for a week point.

His eyes fixated on a small, flashing remote nestled into Doom’s utility belt and realized that he must be using that to synchronize the robotic army. “There, on his belt!” He called out.

The Avengers’ focus turned from the army of doombots to their leader, trying to separate him from the remote control.

Hawkeye aimed his arrows at the device, but Doom deflected all of his shots before they even got close.

Thor aimed a bolt of lightning at the metal man, but even that was deflected.

Steve was about to pull back and throw his shield as a distraction but faltered, grunting when a stray bullet skimmed over his shoulder and sent a sharp throb of pain through his body. He knelt onto the ground, lifting his shield up to ward off another bombardment.

“Cap!” Tony called out when he saw Steve fall to the ground, taking out the robots that were shooting at his teammate. “That’s it.”

Tony’s scanners zoomed in on the piece of tech, readying his automated targeting system as he started to charge the Unibeam. “You wanna see who has the better tech? Take this!” He said, focusing the suit’s power into one concentrated repulsor beam.

Steve glanced at Doom over his shield, noticing the slightest ripple in the air around him. His eyes widened when he realized that the villain was anticipating Tony’s attack and had put up his magnetic force field. Steve raised himself onto his feet and held his hand out towards tony.

“Iron Man wait, cease fire!” He shouted, but either Tony didn’t hear him, or as per usual, chose to just disregard his warning because the blast of energy burst from his chest in a concentrated stream towards their enemy.

The energy blast recoiled off of Doom’s electro-magnetic shields and was redirected right back at him, hitting him right in the chest.

Tony was sent flying miles back from the force of his own Unibeam as it backfired against him.

The energy blast had paralyzed his HUD system to the point where all he could see was black static, meaning that he was more or less blindly flying backwards, and taking out any pillar, sign, and everything else that was unfortunate enough to block his trajectory.

Tony thrashed around helplessly, the screen that was monitoring his vitals flashing wildly in alarm as his heart rate increased drastically, signalling a full on panic attack. Being thrown through the air without any sense of direction definitely boosts the adrenaline in your system.

He tried to get a hold of his repulsors but his whole left side was damaged and unresponsive, and it was impossible to steer. Not that he’d be able to if he could get a hold on it, considering his external video feed was cut off and he was just staring at a black screen.

He hit the concrete, hard, skidding across the ground and leaving a long groove of broken asphalt in his wake.

The armor had taken most of the impact as the pavement shattered beneath him into big chunks of rock, leaving a vaguely Iron Man shaped imprint in the ground when he finally came to a stop.

***

After however much time he spent unconscious, Tony groaned, neck straining to lift his head with the dead weight of the Iron Man helm. He gave up when he could only raise his neck a couple centimeters off the ground, letting his head fall back against the concrete.

“Jarvis.” He grunted, tiny pieces of pulverized concrete rolling off his suit from the movement. “Status.”

“ _The energy blast seems to have nullified most of the systems. Weapons are currently disabled and flight systems are offline. Suit running at 5% efficiency sir.”_ Came the distorted, scratchy reply, only enforcing the fact that his suit was now pretty much reduced to a useless pile of scrap metal.

Tony tried to sit up but without the shock absorbers to neutralize the suit’s mass,  but his body couldn’t lift the extra hundred pounds of titanium alloy encasing his upper body. “Is there anything still working?” He asked, flopping back down on the ground.

“ _Air conditioning unit completely functional._ ”

“Oh, fantastic… At least it won’t get too stuffy in here.” He muttered sarcastically as every last display on his interface flickered off until he was left to stare at nothing but darkness. “Okay, getting a bit claustrophobic now. J, engage the emergency release mechanism.”

At his command, his scale-mail popped open like a piñata, letting him suck in a breath of dusty air as rubble rolled off of the useless, dented, smoking Iron Man suit.

So much for the Mark 18, he thought absently. He really needed to come up with some sort of portable energy source for the Iron Man suit, because all of these power malfunctions were really starting to get on his nerves.

He was just crawling out of the empty iron shell, scrabbling on his hands and knees across the shatters asphalt when the distant sound of a roaring engine tore him from his thoughts. He watched it pull into his peripheral and immediately recognized the familiar spangle-y design.

“Tony!” Cap called to him, cutting the engine and hopped off the bike to kneel beside him. “Hey, you okay?” He asked with a hint of what sounded like actual concern.

Tony scoffed.  “Oh yeah. You know, things were going so well I thought I’d just take a nap in a Wal Mart parking lot.”

Steve gave him a disapproving look for the sarcasm, but offered his hand as an anchor anyway, which Tony used to haul himself up out of the wreckage.

“Judging by that attitude, I’m guessing that you’re fine.” He huffed, helping Tony to his feet. “And here I was worried for nothing.” He muttered, letting Tony lean on him for support, one arm slung around his waist. “Come on, let’s get you back to the Tower. Make sure you didn’t smash your brain into that thick skull of yours.”

“You know, playing the funny, sarcastic asshole doesn’t really suit you. You should probably stick to being your regular, unfunny stick-in-the-mud self.” He muttered, limping just a bit. He’d probably sprained his knee on impact, because he winced at the sharp sting of pain every time he put pressure on it. “What about the invasion? What happened to Doom and his army of glorified trash cans?”

“Already taken care of. Metal doesn’t really hold up when we’ve got a Hulk on our side.” Steve said with a small grin. There was no question that the Hulk’s destructive tendencies and irrepressible urge to smash anything in its sights was a double-edged sword, but he definitely came in handy.

“We took out the army no problem. Doom scurried back to Latveria, I doubt we’ll be hearing from him for a while.” He continued. “Nat and Clint are leading the cleanup crew with SHIELD, Bruce is back at the tower calming down, and Thor is already celebrating our ‘triumphant victory’.” He added, half carrying Tony towards the bike.

“Fights been over for a while then, I guess.” He muttered, wondering when he’d passed out.

“That energy beam knocked you out cold, and with the damages to the suit, it took me a while to find your location”

Tony assumed that by ‘me’ he meant Jarvis, and by ‘took me a while’ he meant took him a while to figure out how to use the tracking device on his Starkphone, but he kept those thoughts to himself.

“Well, good to know you weren’t just going to leave me hanging. Guess I’m not that much of a pain in the ass.” The billionaire huffed.

Steve turned to stare at him pointedly. “Stark, you are an _incredible_ pain in my behind.” He said, his voice exasperated and irritable, but then he added in a softer tone, “But you are part of this team, and I don’t leave anybody behind.”

As lacking as that statement was in kindness, it definitely took Tony by surprise.

“Now come on. I’m sure Director Fury is itching to tear into us for all the damage we caused.” Steve said, lifting his bike off the ground and swung one leg over, revving the engine a couple times to warm it up. “Are you coming?”

Tony gave Steve an accusing look, standing there in his tight fitting, barely concealing black spandex under armor, his arms crossed over his chest in definace. “Nuh uh Cap, no way. I don’t ride bitch.”

Steve looked at him for a moment through his cowl, expression unreadable until he cracked a smile and gave a genuine laugh. “Then you can walk home.”

Tony’s jaw tightened at the threat, his hard stare wavering as Steve revved the engine again.

 Avengers Tower was a good 30 miles north east from this parking lot, and while he was sure that Steve wouldn’t actually leave him stranded with a busted suit, he wasn’t about to test that theory.

With a heavy sigh the genius waved his white flag and straddled the bike, wrapping his arms around Steve’s middle, and leaned into his back as they took off towards the tower.

***

When the two arrived back at Avengers Tower, Steve helped Tony hobble his way towards the elevator, letting the injured man use him as a crutch to take the pressure off of his wounded knee as he escorted him to medical.

Lucky for him there was no fracture in his leg, only a mild sprain that would heal within the next few days. Dr. Cho had instructed him to stay off his leg during that time, warning him that putting too much strain on it would only make it worse, but Tony, unable to stand still for too long at a time, ignored that advice.

Besides, he was currently working on an advanced support mechanism that would aid with the mending of bone and tissue, and what better way to test out his latest invention then to use it on himself?

He fastened the device around his knee, made a few adjustments to the contraption so that it fit his leg properly, and then just like that he could walk again without any external support.

Okay, so maybe moving was not completely effortless, and the contraption wasn’t exactly inconspicuous with its titanium alloy and stainless steel rings and bars, but it was his first prototype and it definitely beat having to walk around with big, wooden crutches under his arms, or have someone carry him everywhere. The splint was definitely enough for Dr. Cho, who actually seemed mildly impressed by his invention.

Once he was cleared of any other injury, Tony was given the medical okay to leave.

Steve walked with him back up to the communal floor, hovering at his side like a golden retriever. Steve was a lot of things that Tony didn’t necessarily approve of, but he couldn’t deny that he was a loyal. Always there for his injured teammates.

Even if it was just a sprain, it was nice to know that the super soldier was making sure he got from A to B without falling over.

No one commented when the two walked in, Steve still practically glued to Tony’s side as the brunet hobbled towards the curved bar for a much needed drink.

Booze probably wasn’t exactly the best thing to put into his system considering he’d just been given a carefully calculated cocktail of ibuprofen, naproxene and a mild derivative of opium, but nothing really dulled the pain quite like a stiff drink.

Thor was busy rummaging through his cupboards, no doubt in search of a brew worthy of a fearless Asgardian warrior, or whatever poetic nonsense he was usually blathering about.

Bruce was sitting down, hunched over on the couch, noise canceling headphones strapped to his head as he wound down with classical music. His usual post-hulking out ritual.

Natasha and Clint were still out salvaging heaps of twisted metal and busted circuit boards, making sure that every last piece of possible catalytic robotics was safely delivered to the Damage Control Storage facility, because the last thing they needed was for some pedestrian to get their hands on this sort of destructive technology.

Tony picked out a bottle 20 year old Talisker whiskey, pouring himself a two finger shot into a rounded glass and brought the drink to his lips.

Steve rested hip against the bar table, crossing his arms as he leaned into it. “You know, you shouldn’t be drinking on your meds.” He scolded, eying Tony suspiciously as he sipped his whiskey.

Tony savoured the smooth taste of the amber liquid on his tongue, the rich taste of spices coating his whole mouth and making it tingle pleasantly. He took another hefty sip and set the glass down. “I’ve done worse.”

Steve really didn’t approve of Tony drinking while on medication, but if he just had the one drink than he’d refrain from stirring up the inevitable argument. If anything, hopefully it would just knock him out so that he could catch up on some decent sleep.

Tony downed the rest of the shot in less than a minute with a sharp exhale, sliding the empty glass across the bar to resist pouring himself another. He was self-destructive, but he didn’t really feel like spending the whole night puking up the chemical cocktail brewing in his belly.

“So much for your elaborate bonding attempt.” Tony muttered, folding his hands over his lap as he swiveled on the bar stool, back facing the counter. “Maybe Doom crashing our lunch date was a sign that you and I were not meant to be.” He added in mock exacerbation, shoulders deflating dramatically as he gave Steve a jesting pout.

Steve forced out a breath through his nose, lips quirking into a tiny smile because obviously Tony wasn’t aware that his stubbornness was on par with his own.

“Nice try Stark, but I don’t give up that easily.” He said, lifting himself off of the stone counter top. “You and I are going to learn to get along with one another. Even if it kills me.”

Tony scoffed, but there was a definite coltish smirk that twitched over his lips that made Steve think that he might have just chipped the surface of Tony’s cold, iron exterior.

“It just might, Rogers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually got this chapter out a lot faster than I initially thought. Don't expect the next one to come out that quickly, but I will hopefully try to get it out in no more than a week. I know there wasn't a lot of meat in this chapter, but things will progress a bit more in the next one so stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve forces Tony to take a break from working. Tony decides to let go of the past and get a fresh start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, before anyone comments just know that I have no knowledge about baseball. At all. I googled baseball teams and stuff like that, so if there are any inconsistencies it's because I know nothing of sports.

Tony spent the next couple of days hiding away in his workshop, working on improvements for his newest armor. Considering what happened to the last one, he needed some serious upgrades.

Hopefully this time around, the suit wouldn’t get shorted out so easily by a backfired repulsor beam to the chest plate. He couldn’t decide if he should be proud that the arc reactor could deliver such a striking blow, or humiliated that he’d designed such a feeble armored shell.

Either way, he was working on a way to fix this little oversight.

He’d been locked away in his lab for three days straight now, which wasn’t by any means a record for him, but still probably wasn’t healthy. Tony Stark had a knack for disregarding his own mental and physical well-being when he was knee deep in processors and scrap metal. His body could hold off on sleep and non-liquefied nutrients until his latest stroke of mechanical genius was birthed into this world.

It wasn’t unusual for the rest of the team not to see him around for days, even weeks at a time. Everyone close to him knew that he had a tendency to be act like mad scientist.

That was just how Tony worked. Locked away in his laboratory, listening to hard rock and heavy metal -- basically any music that was loud and obnoxious, and just lost himself in his work.

When he was in his science zone, Tony was a total recluse.

The genius mechanic was tinkering with the circuitry on his gauntlet when ‘Welcome to The Jungle’ was suddenly cut off mid chorus and instead replaced by the charming sound of Jarvis’ voice.

“ _Sir. Captain Rogers is standing outside your door and has asked to be granted permission into your workshop.”_

Tony grunted, his unprotected face inches away from sparking wires. “Tell him I’m busy.”

The music returned full blast, but before he could even refocus on his task it was cut off again and he was interrupted once more.

“ _Sir, I’m afraid that Captain Rogers is very insistent._ ” Jarvis spoke through the speakers. _“You have been working constantly for much longer than is considered healthy, and your biometric scans indicate low blood sugar and severe exhaustion. Perhaps you should take a break and socialize with the Captain.”_

Tony groaned, setting the screwdriver down with a roll of his eyes. He was pretty sure he’d placed Jarvis on mute, but leave it to his every disobedient AI to disregard a direct order in order to mother him. He really needed to reprogram that poor excuse for a super computer.

“Geez J, whose side are you on? Fine, let him in.” Tony muttered, making a waving gesture towards the ceiling because he knew that neither Steve nor Jarvis would leave him be long enough to get any actual work done.

Just a few short moments later, he heard the whoosh of his glass doors opening and saw a very strong faced Steve Rogers walk into his laboratory, clad in a pair of low hanging sweats and a damp t-shirt.

So sir Punch-A-Lot had been working out. Go figure.

“Tony, you’ve been down here for three days straight. Don’t you think it’s about time you take a break?” He echoed Jarvis’ concerns, arms crossed over his chest. God, he felt like he was getting told off by mum and dad.

Except not really because he had absentee parents who had never actually parented him.

“Probably.” Tony muttered, not looking up from the delicate circuitry that he was fiddling with, soldering a couple wires together. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to.”

Steve frowned, but stood his ground. When the two heroes clashed, it was the visual representation of an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force.

“At least take 5 minutes to eat something.”

“I have been eating.” He muttered, still not looking up from his work as he pointed towards a cluttered table with glasses upon glasses that were covered in a green film.

“Your smoothies don’t count, Tony. You need some real food.”

Tony dramatically groaned and rolled his eyes, finally looking up at Steve. “If I eat something will you stop mothering me?”

Steve smirked victoriously, arms uncrossing so that he could rest his hands on his hips in triumph. “Probably not, but it will get me off your back for a few more hours.”

Tony huffed in defeat, slipping the Iron Man gauntlet off of his arm and stood up. “Fine.” He muttered, deciding that he could squeeze a five minute break into his busy schedule, if only to quench the Captain’s insistent nagging.

Tony followed Steve up the stairs, his feet dragging with every step. Being away from his work made him realize he painfully exhausted he was, and considering his last pot of coffee had run dry a few hours ago, he was basically just running on fumes.

Tony slid into a seat by the island counter, cradling his face in his hands as he watched Steve fiddle about the kitchen, twirling utensils in his grasp and moving with utmost grace.

In just a few short minutes, there was a tray sliding towards him with tasty looking hors d’oeuvres littered across it.

Tony snorted and reached for a cracker that looked like it was topped with some sort of aromatic goat’s cheese, prosciutto, and something red – tomatoes, maybe? Or peppers, he really couldn’t tell.

“You’re a regular old Martha Stuart, aren’t you?” He said, shoving the whole cracker into his mouth.

Steve raised an eyebrow, reaching for a cracker himself. “Who?”

Tony shook his head. “Never mind. This is really good by the way, like, really good.”

Steve gave a bashful smile. “I’ve been watching those cooking shows on the television.” He admitted with what almost looked like the hint of a blush tinting his cheeks. “Back in my day we just boiled things, so food wasn’t that great.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

Tony hummed and shoved another cracker into his mouth.  

After he finished his snack, Steve somehow convinced Tony to lay down on the couch, and the brunet fell asleep almost the instant his head hit the pillow.

Steve was about to leave him be, knowing that Tony needed the rest, but his eyes caught a flash of skin as Tony’s t-shirt rode up, exposing a bit of his tanned stomach. The soldier’s gaze lingered on the patch of flesh for a bit longer than what was probably considered appropriate, but he managed to tear his eyes away.

He walked over to the linen closet and pulled out a soft orange throw blanket, draping it over Tony’s sleeping form before heading out of the kitchen, but not before scribbling a quick ‘Do Not Disturb’ on a sheet of white paper with a pen, plastering it on the glass door.

***

The next morning when Steve came down from his bedroom, Tony was no longer passed out on the couch. Steve figured that the self-neglecting brunet had probably retreated to either his bedroom or back to his workshop to finish upgrading his armor.

Anyone who knew Tony at all would probably favor the latter.  

Steve had gone out for his morning run, showered, and dressed himself in clothes that weren’t completely drenched in sweat. Now, he was just sitting on the sectional, legs stretched out along the length of one of the cushions, sketchpad balanced on his lap as he dragged the charcoal across the paper.

Steve wasn’t really one to over indulge in pleasant luxuries, but even he had to admit that it was nice to have one afternoon where they didn’t have to defend the world from Armageddon.

He started sketching in the notebook, dragging the whittled down charcoal pencil across the paper, tracing curves and lines until they vaguely started resembling something. Halfway through his drawing, he was starting to realize that the image on the paper resembled a certain handsome, dark haired entrepreneur with warm, hazel eyes and defining facial hair --

“So, how’s the whole ‘getting Stark to submit to your infallible acts of comradery’ going?” Natasha quipped, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, vaulting herself over the back of the couch and sinking into the spot next to him.

Steve quickly shut his sketchbook so that she wouldn’t catch what he’d been drawing, not really sure why he felt like he’d just been caught doing something far more inappropriate than sketching a teammate. He sketched his teammates all the time, including Tony.

“Submit?” Steve muttered, clearing his throat. “You make me sound like I’m forcing him to spend time with me.”

Natasha shrugged, giving him a sly, sideways smile. “Well, you are sort of forcing yourself on him.”

Steve wrinkled his nose at her vulgar choice of words. “I’m not forcing anything. I’m asking him if he wants to do things together, and he decides if he wants to go or not. It’s not like I’m holding him at gun point.”

“Whatever you say.” Natasha sing-songed, her half smile turning into a full on grin as she reached for the television remote.

Steve ignored the redhead’s comment and reached into his pocket when he felt his phone vibrating.

Steve swiped a thumb over the screen of his smartphone, well averse with this little piece of tech by now. He quickly read through the text he received from a number he didn’t recognize.

_Got two tickets to see the Mets tonight and Rhodey bailed on me. You in? TS_

As if the tone of the message wasn’t enough of a hint, the signature definitely tipped him off, and he realized that this was the first time that Tony was texting him from his private phone if the number hadn’t been recognized.

Well I’ll be damned, Steve thought. His plan was really progressing well if Tony was the one texting him to go out together. He quickly tapped out a reply, letting Tony know in a casual and completely not upfront way that he would love to go to the game.

He turned to Natasha with a triumphant smile.

“Looks like my plan is working out pretty swell.”

***

A couple hours later, Steve was just fixing himself up a quick snack – a half dozen eggs stirred into a glass of milk.

One of the catches about his super serum infused body was that it required a super high intake of protein to keep him from getting lethargic. Lucky for him that Tony’s poor dietary habits meant that there were plenty of protein powders and vitamin supplements stocked in the kitchen. Not to mention eggs. It was hard to beat the pure protein that was packed into the small, oval packages.

He downed the eggy beverage in a few quick gulps, wiping his hand over his mouth just as Tony walked into the kitchen.

 The brunet wrinkled his nose at the slimy residue lining the sides of the glass. He couldn’t understand how anyone could eat a raw egg, let alone down 6 of them mixed in with some milk. Tony wanted to gag just at the thought.

“Ready to watch the game?” He asked, dressed casually in a plain white tee with a quarter sleeve red plaid shirt thrown on top, a black ball cap, and a pair of red lensed sun glasses.

Steve was sporting a similar look, wearing a blue plaid shirt with the first two buttons undone, a grey cap with the Dodgers logo on the front, and just a regular pair of large, black rimmed glasses.

Ball caps and sunglasses seemed to be the go-to disguise for blending in with the commoners around these parts.

 

Tony shot a look at his hat and raised an eyebrow. “You do know that the Dodgers play for Los Angeles now, right? Not Brooklyn.”

“They played for Brooklyn back in my day, so they’re still my team.”

Tony just shrugged, deciding to leave it at that. He wasn’t the biggest sport’s fan, but he knew better than to argue with a man about his preferred sport’s team.

They made it to the Stadium with a few minutes to spare before the game started, shimmying their way into their seats. Steve was a bit surprised that Tony didn’t have his own specially reserved viewing box, considering how the man tended to flaunt his money, but he sort of liked how they were sitting among the regular folk, nestled comfortably in some prime but standard middle row seats. It reminded him of when he used to go to games with Bucky.

As the game went on, Steve would raise from his seat and howl along with the crowd whenever the home team hit the ball, cheering and pounding his fist into the air. Tony, who had never been a crazy jock, just sat back in his seat, occasionally offering a muffled ‘woot’.

As half time rolled around and the players were taking advantage of the intermission to rehydrate, the cameras were focusing on different parts of the stadium, flashing different sections across the Jumbo-Tron.

The screen suddenly stopped to show two men in the crowd. They seemed to notice that they were on the big flashy screen they laughed, and one of them leaned over to pull the other into a kiss and he could hear the crowd cheer and wold whistle.

Tony smiled in the friendly way people did when they saw something heartwarming, turning his head to the side when he caught Steve’s face in the corner of his eye.

The blond had a shocked look on his face, eyes wide and staring at the two men sharing a tender moment on the screen. Steve gaze was locked onto the television screen as the two men were smooching, before the image started flipping across the crowds again.

Tony didn’t think much of Steve’s reaction at first, but then it hit him.

Oh.

_Oh._

Of course watching two guys kissing was probably a huge shock for him. Steve was from a time where being openly gay (or even privately gay) was incredibly frowned upon, not to mention illegal.

This could be awkward.

Steve never came off as the bigoted sort, but he supposed not everyone was perfect. Considering the time he grew up in – where bible thumpers preached about how the sanctity of marriage was between a man and a woman and all that crap, he wouldn’t be surprised if Steve was a little off put by the sight.

Tony decided to tread carefully, like he was walking across a freshly frozen pond.

“You alright Cap?” He asked cautiously, feeling a heavy wall of tension suddenly being built up as Steve just stared at the screen, unblinking.

“Those two men. They were kissing.” He stated bluntly, his face stoic, which was only fueling Tony’s apparent discomfort.

The liberal billionaire rolled his shoulders. “Well, yeah. I mean, we’re not in the 1940s anymore. You don’t go to jail for being gay. I mean, there are still some people who think it’s an ungodly sin, but for the most part people just go on with their own business.” He said, furrowing his brows at the other. “Don’t tell me they didn’t brief you on this when you came out of the deep freeze?”

“They mentioned the whole gay rights movement briefly when they gave me a crash course on all the important moments of history that happened in the last 70 years, but I just…couldn’t really believe it.” He said, tone still unreadable, which only tugged on the tightening string of tension between them.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Steve finally spoke up again.

“I’m glad. I always thought that judging someone for who they loved was just poor taste.” He said, which admittedly came as a shock to him.

“Wait, seriously? You’re not going to give some huge, anti-gay propaganda speech?”

Steve turned to look at him, looking mildly offended. “No, of course not. Why, did you think I would?”

Tony shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not that I thought you were homophobic, just that, you know, people back in the day weren’t really so accepting of people who were different. God knows my dad had his prejudices.” Tony admitted with a scoff.

He’d brought up on more than one occasion that Howard’s obsession with Captain America seemed a bit queer to him. He’d often met the back of his hand whenever he mentioned that.

Steve took in Tony’s response for a moment, like he was savouring the words. There was the briefest flash of disappointment on his features when he mentioned his dad’s thoughts on the matter, and Tony wasn’t really sure how he was supposed to take that.

“There are only two kinds of people in this world that I have a problem with, and one of them is bullies.“ He admitted, voice low and unwavering.

Tony gave a nod, both shocked and a bit proud of how accepting Steve was. Then he wrinkled his nose, glancing at Steve out of the corner of his eyes.

“And what’s the other kind of people you have problems with?”

Steve turned his head to look at him, a small smirk playing on his face as he ducked his head down. “Yankees.”

Tony stared at him for a long moment, blinking, and then burst out into a fit of laughter.

***

The Mets won against the Texas Rangers 7 to 5.

Despite Steve donning a Dodgers cap, the Dodgers hadn’t actually participated in this game.

The two Avengers were slowly making their way out of the stadium, pressed almost shoulder to shoulder as the crowd was corralled through the exits. They stopped by a concessions stand outside of the Stadium. Tony just got a regular vanilla soft serve while Steve got one of those ridiculous red white and blue popsicles.

Tony leaned against an iron fence, licking a few drips of ice cream off of his hand as Steve sucked on his tricoloured frozen treat.

“So, is hanging out with me as bad as you thought it would be?” Steve asked, his mouth slightly red from sucking on the popsicle.

“Well, I don’t immediately want go home and drink myself into a coma, so I supposed I’ve had worse company.” He mused, which earned a small smile from Steve.

The blond might not know Tony well, but if he didn’t have the urge to do something reckless than at least he wasn’t a complete bore. Tony seemed to notice the look on Steve’s face and shot him a warning glance.

“Hey, just because I said that hanging out with you doesn’t make me want to drown myself in booze, it doesn’t make us friends.” He stated firmly.

Steve took in a heavy breath and turned his full attention on Tony.

“Why are you persistent about shutting me out?” Steve asked, on the cusp of desperation because he had tried his hardest not to come off as hostile. To be friendly and respectful and caring and every time he thought that Tony was finally coming around the brunet would shut him out. “I thought we were having fun together, why are you so against becoming friends?”

Tony’s jaw visibly clenched and he threw the half eaten ice cream into a trash bin. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well too bad, I do.” Steve said, his voice firm and unyielding. “I’m trying Tony, I really am, but you’re not making it easy. Why do you hate me so much? What have I ever done to you –“

“ _What have you done_?” Tony nearly shouted in response, his voice raised as people shot them passing glances, and he quickly tried to compose himself, really not wanting to cause a scene. He shrank back, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“My da – Howard, he idolized you. Reminded me every day that I would never be half the man that _Captain America_ was.” He spoke of the title with a sneer. “And then when we first met in person, I saw you and I thought ‘this is the guy my dad talked about so much? _Him?’_ He always went on about how you were the greatest thing the earth had ever seen, how you would win the war, and you turned out to be so...” He trailed off, shaking his head and making a waving gesture with his hand.

Steve opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it because what on earth could he say to _that_?

He’d known about Tony’s daddy issues from reading his file, but anyone with half a brain could tell that Tony’s relationship with his father had been problematic just by looking at him. And now hearing this, how Howard had just abandoned his legacy in favor of searching for him…

The man had been his dear friend in the war, and Steve could not forget that, but he didn’t doubt that Howard had been a terrible father.

After a long, awkward pause, Steve finally spoke up.

“Tony, I’m sorry. I really am.”

Tony glanced away and just shrugged, because emotions weren’t exactly his strong suit. “Doesn’t really matter anymore. What’s done is done, I can’t change that.”

“No, you can’t change what happened in the past, but you don’t have to let it affect you like this.”

Tony didn’t look at him, but Steve could tell that he was listening.

“Look, we didn’t exactly start off on the right foot, and I didn’t exactly give you anything that would change how you thought of me, but I’m really trying to make amends for that, to get you to see past the suit.”

Tony exhaled loudly, breath coming out heavy through his nostrils. “I spent all this time building up this image of you. Resenting you, hating you…” He shook his head, looking down at his hands. “Turns out you’re just a nice guy. A controlling dick at times, but generally a nice guy.” He took another breath and exhaled. “I spent my whole life hating you because my dad was so disappointed that I wasn’t like you. I wanted to hate you, but then you showed up, acting like Mr. Perfect and actually somehow got me to like you, and I just…I wanted to keep hating you.”

Steve wasn’t good at expressing emotion, and by the looks of it Tony wasn’t either. He was at a loss of words for what he could say to Tony, but then he remembered Natasha’s wise advice about getting him to see Steve Rogers, not Captain America.

Steve straightened and squared his shoulders, facing Tony. “Then why don’t you and I start new? Forget everything that happened between us before – all the arguments, Howard’s impression, everything.”

Tony gave him a questioning look. “You’re being serious.”

“I am. Come on, let’s start fresh. No grudges, no judgement. Clean slate.”

Tony thought on the proposition for a moment and then let out a huff. “Yeah, alright fine. Clean slate.”

Steve nodded and reached a hand out, offering it to Tony. “Steve Rogers.” He said with a charming smile.

Tony returned the smile with one of his own but took the offered hand in a firm grasp. “Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and occasional savior of the world.”

Steve repressed the urge to roll his eyes at Tony’s ridiculous introduction and instead shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you Tony.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy this past week. But this chapter is a lot longer so I hope that makes up for it. I also got rid of chapter titles because it's too frustrating to think of titles.

It wasn’t exactly easy to just erase the last 40 years of neglect he’d had to endure because of Howard’s obsession with Captain America, but at least now Tony was actively trying to leave water under the bridge. He still had his doubts about allowing Steve into his personal circle, but for the most part he wasn’t trying to rile the Captain up every chance he got, so there was some progress.

They weren’t exactly announcing their newfound comradery to the world, but they weren’t keeping it a secret either.

His and Steve’s becoming friendly with one another was quick to turn heads, and it seemed like every media site had their own two cents to share about how Iron Man and Captain America had suddenly become besties.

The rest of the team had immediately caught on to the fact that the eruptive nature between the two team leaders seemed to quiet down as of late, which came as a shock to all of them. All of them except for Natasha of course, having known early on about Steve’s elaborate plan. Though she did seem a bit surprised that the short tempered soldier had actually managed to get Tony onto his good side.

There was still a teeny bit of bickering, which was inevitable with two strong personalities living under one roof, but it wasn’t nearly as catastrophic as their previous fights had been. Mostly it was just arguments over who got to choose the film for movie night, or Tony criticizing Steve’s inability to adapt to modern day tech.

After witnessing the legendary arguments between Captain America and Iron Man, the rest of the team was just glad that they finally seemed to cool down around one another. Especially Pepper and Rhodey, who had been on the receiving end of many a rant about Tony’s clear distaste for America’s iconic patriot.

A few weeks had passed since Steve and Tony’s reconciliation, and so far things were going well. Despite what the media claimed, they weren’t quite ‘besties’, although they’d definitely moved up from frenemies to something a little more auspicious.

It was a quiet day in Avengers Tower, which where precious days due to how rare and far between these moments of pure, uninterrupted noiselessness were.

Whether it was dealing with evil and destructive monsters, or separating Thor and Clint from fighting over the last Poptart, peace and quiet was hard to come by around here.

Tony was down in the Bio-engineering lab with Bruce, exchanging genius ideas with the lovable doctor.

Well, for the most part he was just acting as a human satellite for the Bruce to bounce his thoughts off of, while occasionally imputing his own little bits and pieces.

Banner was just as much the mad scientist that he was, albeit a bit less destructive. You know, when he wasn’t turning into an enormous green rage monster.

Bruce sighed as he lifted the lid of the containment unit, picking up a molten, flesh coloured substance in his baby blue, latex gloved hands.  The doctor let out a long sigh, shaking his head as it seeped between his fingers in long, stringy tendons resembling slime.

“I still can’t find a way to stabilize the tissue once it’s extracted from the synthesizer.” He muttered mostly to himself, flicking the fleshy goop off of his hands. “Maybe if I increase the amount of keratin in the synthetic tissue and decrease the elastin, it will strengthen the fibrous structure of the epithelium…”

Bruce turned to Tony, obviously seeking his input. “What do you think?”

Tony let out an unenthusiastic huff, arms crossed over his chest as he tipped his head back in the chair he was sitting in. “Yeah, sorry Brucie-bear. I’m a genius robotics engineer, not a biologist so I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He muttered, feeling the tendrils of impending boredom start to take over his mind.

He didn’t mind helping Bruce out, especially on a project as fundamentally important as his artificial tissue synthesizer, but when science didn’t involve welding things and blowing shit up Tony Stark had a very short attention span and they’d been at this for hours already.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe you need to take a break? Reenergize those neurons before you short circuit them.” Tony hopped out of his seat and grabbed his jacket.

Bruce didn’t look convinced, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger. “Tony’ I don’t know. I really should keep working on this, Doctor Cho is expecting some results by the end of this week.”

“Come on, I know a nice organic coffee place that has cats running around the place. You like cats.” The brunet encouraged.

Bruce let out a small laugh, rubbing at his tired eyes. “They’re soft and the purring soothes me.”

Tony smiled and clapped his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “There we go. Come on big guy.”

With a defeated sigh, the doctor caved in. “Yeah, alright. Just let me get my coat.”

Just as Bruce was making a move to grab his own coat, the automatic doors whooshed open and Steve walked in wearing a light blue checkered shirt and beige slacks. Tony gave him a look over and frowned.

So much for him giving up the Grandpa chic look.

“Sup Capsicle.” Tony greeted with the slightest curve of his upper lip.

“Hey.” Steve returned the half smile, rubbing his palm over his knuckles.  

“So what brings you down to our hellish lair?”

“Just finished some training rounds with the others, I thought maybe you might want to go grab coffee or something?”

Tony pursed his lips, his nose wrinkling. “Ooh, sorry Cap, but I already made plans.”

“Oh.” Steve’s expression fell a bit, just the briefest flash of disappointment that was barely noticeable, like he’d been counting on Tony being free.

“Yup. Bruce and I were just about to go grab some coff—“

“Actually you two should go ahead. I’ll stay here.” The doctor interrupted, eyes shifting between the two team leaders as he took off his coat. 

Brown and blue eyes snapped towards him, Steve looking guilty and Tony feeling both betrayed and suspicious by the sudden bail.

“Doctor Banner, if the two of you made plans first its fine, I wouldn’t want to impose on you.”

Bruce simply shook his head, trying to hide a mischievous grin as he retreated back to his worktable. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got a breakthrough that I want to start researching before I forget.” He said, jotting down notes and reaching for substances in little glass jars. “Go ahead without me, please. I might actually be able to get some work done without Mr. Chatty there.”

Tony stared at Bruce, mouth agape. “Rude.” He called out, but the other scientist just gave him a pointed look and a little wave.

The brunet sighed, turning back to face Steve.

“Well, it looks like my date just canceled on me so I guess I’ll settle for you.”

Steve had learned to take Tony’s sarcasm with a grain of salt so just laughed and smiled back at him, leading the shorter man out of the lab.

***

They still wound up going to the feline café.

Steve couldn’t have imagined a place like this back in his day, but in the modern world every establishment seemed to have their own little gimmicks.

Not only did this place have a dozen cats roaming around freely, but the waitresses were dressed in tiny little French maid outfits, which Steve couldn’t help but get all flustered about.

A waitress, who was dressed in a very short black skirt with a white frilled apron brought two coffee cups to their table. Steve took his black, but Tony accepted a splash of almond milk and some honey in his own cup.

The young girl wished them a good day before returning to her post and Steve tried not to notice how her tiny skirt just barely covered her behind.

“I can’t believe that’s a work uniform.” He muttered under his breath, taking a sip of the coffee. This place was strange, but at least the coffee was strong.

Tony shrugged. “It goes with the atmosphere. Women have been subjugated to centuries of repression and now they wanna show off their bodies. Just sit back and enjoy the movement like the rest of us, Cap.” He said, winking at another maid as she passed by their table. She just giggled and offered them a tiny wave before tending to the other patrons.

Steve frowned. “Well, I suppose I’m just a little old fashioned.”

As they enjoyed their coffee, Tony couldn’t help but notice a dark skinned beauty with raven hair and a heart shaped face a few tables down, looking their way every so often and whispering to her blond friend. He nudged Steve’s foot under the table and nodded his head towards her. “I think that one likes you.”

Steve briefly glanced over his shoulder and the two girls quickly averted their eyes, hiding shy smiles behind delicately manicured hands. He turned back to Tony with a raised eyebrow. “What makes you think she’s interested in me? You’re the famous playboy.” He pointed out which earned a low chuckle from the other.

“That’s exactly why I think that. I’m the dangerous playboy, you’re the charming hero.” He pointed out with a smirk.

Steve simply rolled his eyes at that.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I haven’t seen you go out on one date since you made it out of the deep freeze. That girl’s a real catch.” He said before adding under his breath “I bet she could show you all sorts of things. They didn’t do in the 40s.”

Steve fought the blush that threatened to spread across his face at that last comment. “Even if she was interested, I’m not really looking for a date right now.” Steve muttered, glancing down at a small, white cat with yellow eyes that jumped up next to him, rubbing its face against the back of his hand. He gave the cat a gentle pat.

“Looks like you don’t have any problems making that pussy purr.” Tony jabbed at him with a wicked smirk.

Steve wasn’t too sure what he was implying with that, but knowing the genius it couldn’t be anything good so he simply narrowed his eyes and offered him a displeased stare.

***

A week passed since their little coffee date.

Tony walked into the common kitchen area, making his usual trip to the coffee machine but his route was blocked by a bulky super solder wearing a white apron, and the counter tops were amess with half a dozen bowls filled with some sort of chocolatey looking substance.

Tony rose an eyebrow as he squeezed around Steve, determined to get to the coffee.

“Uh, any reason why my kitchen looks like something straight out of Cupcake wars?” The billionaire asked as he reached over the mess to make a grab for the pot of coffee and pour himself a cup. He eyed a spot of spilled batter on the counter top where it looked like Steve had set down his mixing spoon at some point.

“Charity Barbeque for the church I used to go to when I lived in Brooklyn. I got put in charge of dessert.” Steve didn’t look up from his task, pouring the contents of the mixing bowl into a paper lined foil tray and spread it out into an even layer.

Tony reached over to grab an empty cardboard box, turning it over in his hand. “Betty Crocker, huh? I thought you old folks were all about making things from scratch.”

Steve just rolled his shoulders and scraped around the sides of the bowl. “It’s easier. I mean, flower, cocoa power, sugar -- it’s all the same stuff right?”

Tony hummed in response, leaning around Steve so he could reach out and scoop some of the batter dripping down the lip of the bowl onto his finger, ignoring the glare that the blond was sending his way as he tasted it.

“You still go to church? Didn’t know you were such a diehard Christian.”

“I’m not quite as devout as I used to be, but I try to stay connected to the community.” He said, putting a couple trays of brownies into the oven, switching them for the batch that had just finished baking. “Besides, it’s nice to hang out with people my own age.” He added, turning to Tony with a playful smirk.

The brunet gave a laugh, licking the chocolatey goo off of his finger. “Ha. You beat me by one second.”

Steve let out a throaty chuckle in response, wiping some excess batter onto the front of his apron. “You know, you should come with me. The folks at the church are really nice, and it might do you some good to spend time with us elderly.”

Tony responded with a raised eyebrow. “You seriously want me to crash your old people party?”

Steve chose to ignore the phrasing and gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Yeah, why not.”

Tony entertained the idea for a moment. The only charity functions he ever attended were of the black tie variety, where pompous bureaucrats and politicians congregated to brag about how much money they were donating to some probable cause. It might be nice to go to an event where the main goal of the evening wasn’t to see who the most generous benefactor was.

“Yeah alright. But only if you let me lick the spoon.”

Steve let out another laugh and handed him the bowl of batter and the mixing spoon.

***

Once the brownies were done and packaged up, they made their way to Steve’s old church house. Tony looked over the shrubbery, eying the old fashioned looking church building. The establishment looked like it was from the early 1900s, with chipped brownstone bricks littered with vines and ivy, and a white spiral tower with a rusty bell inside. The building might have once been architecturally impressive, but it looked like it hadn’t been properly maintained in decades.

An older looking woman waved them over, looking to be about in her late sixties or early seventies. “Ah, Steve, it’s good to see you.” She said, sounding pleased to see him as she greeted him with a hug. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you’d actually show up.”

Steve, holding the four trays of brownies in one arm reached over her tiny frame to embrace the old woman, mindful of his strength. “And miss your world famous three bean salad? Never.”

Pulling away from his one-armed hug, the woman shifted her gaze over to Tony and flashed an inviting smile. “And who is this? A friend of yours?”

“Tony Stark. Genius inventor, world renowned philanthropist, wealthy billionaire? You might have heard of me.” Tony humbly introduced himself. It was rare that someone didn’t recognize his face immediately with how often his name had been in the media, though he wouldn’t be too offended if this woman didn’t recognize him. People over the age of 65 who weren’t too big on new age tech hardly ever knew who he was, unless they’d heard him name somewhere in passing.

Surprisingly, the woman’s eyes brightened and she lifted a wrinkled hand adorned with several rings on each finger and pointed towards him. “Ah yes, I do know you, the technology man. You must be Howard’s boy. My, you do look just like him.”

Tony caught the hesitant look that Steve flashed him out of the corner of his eye since he was now aware of how triggering Howard’s memory could be. Tony, who was used to hearing his dad’s name being brought up in conversation just brushed it off and grinned. “Well, I guess I do get my reputation from somewhere.” He said, giving the woman one of his most charming winks.

Steve rolled his eyes at Tony’s antics, but the woman just giggled softly.

“Tony, this is Agnes. Her husband was a member of my Howling Commandos.”

“My first husband. I remarried when he never came back from the war.” Agnes corrected Steve.

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry to hear that.” Tony defaulted, offering his condolences.

“Oh, don’t bother dearie. That lump probably survived the war and changed his name. We could never really stand each other.” She said humorously. Tony liked her. “Well don’t just stand here and chat with an old woman like me. Go on! Enjoy yourselves. There’s plenty of food so don’t hold back.” Agnes said, giving Steve a few hard pats across the stomach, making the blond laugh as she coped a feel at his muscles.

Oh yeah, Tony definitely like her.

They each grabbed a plate and walked around, Steve introducing him to people as they made their rounds. It was amazing to watch him talk with the elderly, reminiscing about old memories about a time that Tony could only imagine.

It was haunting to think about how Steve was probably the oldest person here, counting all the years he spent frozen in the ice. And yet physically, he looked younger than them all, including Tony himself. The ladies definitely didn’t seem to mind Steve’s youthful appearance, asking him to reach over and grab something for them, or pick up something that had fallen. Basically just any excuse to watch his muscles flex.  

For innocent old women, they were definitely cunning little minxes.

Shockingly, Tony found himself actually having a good time. He’d never really considered the elderly as good company, being a science and tech man himself. Of course he was all about the respecting your elders ideal, you know, when your elders were cute grandmas and grandpas, not bloodsucking investors and bureaucrats.

Of course just about everyone here only knew his name through his father, and for the most part they all had wonderful things to say, aside from the occasional man fussing about how Howard Stark would steal all the girls’ attention back in the day with his fancy flyin’ machines. It almost made him wish that he could have known the Howard Stark that so many people respected instead of the lowlife father who didn’t give a shit about his kid.

Almost.

As the party was ending Steve, always the gentleman, offered to stay and help clean up, so by default Tony got roped into helping too. Tony haled a couple of folding chairs towards the storage shed that was attached to the side of the church while Steve carried a whole table by himself. With one hand.

And people called him a show off.

They said their farewells, Steve promising to stop by for Sunday mass the next time he wasn’t busy defending New York from some sort of global assault.

As they made their way back towards the tower, Tony was thinking that he’d actually had a really good time hanging out with Steve, and wanted to find some way to thank him for the fortuitous afternoon.

That, and if he was being honest, part of him didn’t want to go their separate ways just yet.

When they pulled up near the tower, instead of turning into the building Tony kept on going straight. Steve took note of this, glancing back at the tower as they drove further and further away from it.

“I think you missed the turn.” He pointed out.

Tony kept his eyes on the road. “Nope, just taking you somewhere else.”

Steve didn’t quite seem to understand what Tony’s angle was, his eyebrows quirked curiously as the brunet continued to drive out of the city, so he trusted him to some degree or just accepted that Tony was kidnapping him because he just sat back and didn’t make any further comment.

***

The late summer day was quickly waning once they’d reached the hill top lookout just on the outskirts of New York City. Tony parked the car in a patch of dead grass off to the side of the dirt road.

Steve exited the car and stretched his arms up high over his head, breathing in a large gulp of air. It was nice living in the city, he loved it considering he’d spent all his life in the heart of Brooklyn, but the breath of fresh air was definitely a refresher.

The soldier caught a glimpse of the dazzling horizon where the sun was setting, the sky a mess of warm pinks and bright oranges. He sure wished he had his paints on him right now.

“This place is beautiful.” He gaped, wondering how he hadn’t been here before. The view of the distant city from this spot was breath taking. Steve could imagine spending hours here with his sketchbook, drawing the city scape.

“It is a nice spot.” Tony agreed and walked over to hop onto the hood of his car, sprawling out along the elongated front of his cherry red Corvette.

He hadn’t been to this place in a while, but in his younger days, once he could actually drive, he used to come here all the time. On most occasions he wouldn’t be alone, often bringing the women that he was trying to get lucky with here to make out with in the backseat of his car.

Though he now knew Steve was a pretty liberal guy, he decided to keep that bit to himself.

Steve noticed him lounging on top of the sport’s car and decided to join in, hoisting his body up carefully to avoid putting a dent in the billionaire’s expensive ride. The last thing they needed to ruin the moment was Steve accidentally crush Tony’s beautiful car. Even though Tony was practically made of money and could easily purchase another car without so much as a dent to his net worth, Steve doubted he’d be happy about it.

Tony reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulling out a small metal container. He unscrewed the cap and brought the canister to his lips, taking a long swig before extending it towards the blond. “Want some?”

Steve cautiously took the flask and gave it a whiff, wrinkling his nose at the potent vapors that were emanating from the spout.

“Geez Tony, what the hell is that? Jet fuel?” He said, handing the flask back to the brunet.

“This is some grade A Hooch, Cap. Learned how to make it when they sent me to prison for assaulting an officer back in college.”

Steve stared at him with an astonished look on his face and Tony started laughing.

“Kidding! Well, sort of. I did go to jail, but Rhodey bailed me out before sunrise.” He explained, as if that made his arrest negligible. “It’s just spiced rum. Promise.”

He extended the drink again, but Steve just stared at him instead. It wasn’t like he could get drunk anyway.

Tony shrugged and pressed the rim to his lips once again. “Suit yourself, just means more for me.”

At that remark, Steve reached out to take the flask from Tony, realizing that if the more he drank, the less Tony would. While the super serum made his body impervious to the effects of alcohol, his eyes still watered at the burning sensation on his tongue, and he almost choked as the liquor scorched his throat.

“You’re sure that’s not jet fuel?” He wheezed, handing the flask back to Tony as he felt the booze burning a hole in his stomach lining.

“Nope, just good ol’ Jamaican rum. Imported straight from the motherland.” He said, taking another swig.

Steve stole the flask again and took another drink himself. The taste wasn’t pleasant by any means, and the most intoxication he felt was just a brief rush of heat over his face that lasted half a second, but he knew that Tony could down that whole container on his without a problem so the more he drank, the less Tony would.

When the flask was half empty, Tony twisted around on the hood of the car so that he could face Steve properly, resting his weight on his elbow as a worrying grin played on his lips.

“So.”

“So?”

“Let’s gossip like two frat boys on spring break.” He said, and the look Steve gave him a look that showed that the blond still wasn’t catching on. Tony rolled his eyes. “Discuss conquests? Swap stories about our greatest sexual exploits? Come on, I thought you were in the army. This is how two fellas bond, isn’t it?”

Steve could feel his face heating up at that, and he almost choked on his next sip of rum. “Tony!”

Tony smirked, stretching himself along the roof of the car, possibly a little drunk. “Oh, don’t be like that. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

Steve rolled his eyes and glanced away, the tips of his ears tinging a bright pink colour, but Tony’s eyes remained on him, insistent. Steve swallowed and pursed his lips, pressing the spout of the metal flask to his lips. “I uh…I don’t have any stories to swap.”

“What, for real? I know Captain America’s supposed to be all wholesome and virtuous, but you have to have gotten some tail.”

“You know I wasn’t always Captain America.” He muttered snidely, clearly a bit embarrassed by Tony’s reaction to his lack of sexual prowess. “And ladies weren’t exactly lining up to ‘dance’ with a fella whose 100 lbs soaking wet and suffers from chronic asthma attacks, if you know what I mean.” He said, swiping the flask from Tony to take another drink, even if the only lasting effect of the rum an intense burning in his throat.

“Yeah, but you’re hot now.” Tony interjected without any filter, as if that was supposed to make Steve feel better, which it sort of did coming from a man who’s dated just about every good looking guy and gal around.

Steve gave a bashful smile. “The serum ah…helped. I’ve definitely got um…a lot more requests since then.” He said, that lovely flush creeping down his cheeks to spread across his throat. “But the war, being an Avenger….suppose I just haven’t found the time. Or the right partner.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

Tony let that sink in. He knew Steve was virtuous and all that, but he’d never expected him to have zero sexual experience. There was something a little…refreshing about that, actually.

Tony’s own ledger was more than a little impressive. He was a sex crazy bandit, or at least he had been in the prime of his playboy days. He’d more or less mellowed out by now, ever since Pepper had left a burning, unfillable gap in his heart where the arc reactor’s cold, metallic glow now resided, but he was far from a saint.

“So not just waiting for marriage?” Tony teased with a quirk of his brow, which stole a smile from his companion.

“I’m old fashioned, but waiting until marriage seems a bit extreme. I’ll settle for the standard three date waiting period.”

They both shared a grin at that, and took a few more sips from the quickly emptying flask. After a few moments of lingering silence, Tony spoke up once again, determined to find at least one crack in the Captain’s chastity belt.

“But you have to have done _something_.” The slightly tipsy billionaire pressed on, leaning back on his elbows. “Captain America can’t be all wholesome and puritan.” He continued, sucking the last few drops of nectar from the flask.

Steve’s blush came back to his cheeks, and Tony watched as he bit down on his bottom lip, a bashful smile tugging at the corner of the bond’s mouth.

“There was this one girl. Back before the serum. I must have been in my early 20s.” He began, all shy and innocence.

“Oh yeah?” Tony edged on with a devilish smirk, clear, unadulterated interest on his face.

Steve hesitated for a moment, but then went on. “Her name was Ethel Robinson.” He began, his eyes glossing over as if he was playing the memory back behind those cornflower eyes. “We made out in the backseat of my car – well, Bucky’s car actually.” He said, sheepishly. “She let me put my hands on her. Feel all the way up under her dress.”

Tony made a wold whistling sound and punched Steve’s shoulder. “Oho, you sly dog.”

Steve’s cheeks were so red that Tony worried for a moment that he might spontaneously combust, but eventually the flush dissipated.

“Well, what about you then?”

Tony gave a hearty laugh.

“Oh, we’d be here all night if I started talking about my glory days. And that’s only if I skip the really juicy details.” He said, playing with the empty flask.

Steve wrinkled his nose. “No juicy details please, I don’t think my innocent ears can handle the vulgarities.” He said half serious, which earned another laugh from the brunet. “You don’t have to recount all of them, I’ll settle for just one.”

Tony thought about it for a moment.

“I could tell you about my first time?”

Steve didn’t give a verbal answer, just settled back against his elbows, which Tony took as a yes.

“I was probably 18. Shocking, I know, but I wasn’t always this dashingly handsome.” Tony flaunted, which earned a dramatic eye roll from Steve.

“One of our housekeepers – Sonia I think? Samantha? Something with an ‘S’. Anyway, this girl was twice my age, but damn, was she smoking hot. Tiny waist, round ass, perky – sorry, right. Details.” He muttered with an impish smirk when Steve cleared his throat. “Anyway, you get my point. I knew she was flirting from the moment she started working. She crept into my room one night, and bam. The beginning of history.”

Steve scoffed, resting a hand across his stomach. “Well, weren’t you a charmer.”

Tony gave a mischievous eyebrow waggle. “You know it.” Tony shifted on his elbows and once again turned to Steve. “So you really haven’t had anyone before?”

“Tony…”

“I’m not trying to tease or make fun of you or anything, really, I’m just curious. I mean, what about agent Carter? Everyone thought you two were a thing. The Captain America exhibit even talks about your romance.” Tony inquired with genuine interest.

“There was a war going on, you know. Not much time for romance.” Steve pointed out.

“Yeah but, did you want to? Be romantic with her, I mean.” Tony made sure to phrase his words carefully so as not to embarrass the poor soldier.

Steve glanced down, a flash of something resembling sadness and deep thought crossing his face. “I’d never really had the chance to think about it, but I think I loved her so I guess it must have crossed my mind.”

A long pause.

“Do you miss her?”

Tony was quiet for a few beats, giving Steve a moment with his thoughts. He saw the clench of his jaw and his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard before replying in an almost broken voice. “Yeah, I miss her. Of course I miss her. She’s the only gal I think I ever really loved." He sighed with a forlorn shake of his head.

At the time, Steve might have thought about settling down with her after the war. Maybe have kids, start a family with the beautiful redhead. She would have made a lovely wife. Of course, that was before I crashed the fighter jet into the Arctic Ocean. Now, more than 70 years later, it was far too late for any of that. “I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”

Tony didn’t dare say a word, not sure what he could even say to that. He knew what it was like to lose someone you loved, and he knew that no words could possibly make it feel any better. After some time it was Steve who finally spoke up.

“It’s getting late. Maybe we should head home.”

Tony gave a short nod and tucked the empty canister into his coat pocket. “Yeah alright.” Tony slid off of the hood of the car, nearly stumbling as he got his footing. He was about to open the driver’s side door, but a hand rested just above his, holding it shut.

“I don’t think you’re fit to drive. Keys.”

Muttering something, Tony pulled his car keys from his pockets and handed them to Steve, using the car to steady himself as he shuffled towards the other side.

Maybe it was the fact that he was feeling slightly inebriated from the whispering vapors of the rum, but his gaze couldn’t help but drift to the soldier’s backside as he watched Steve’s climb into the driver’s seat.

***

A few days later, Steve hadn’t really heard much from Tony. Not that that was anything new, he just figured the brunet was busy working on one of his newest projects.

The Captain was spending some of his free time in the training room, dodging the red lasers that shot out of the tiny wall mounted robots that locked onto his every move. Just as he blocked the barrage of laser beams with his shield, he felt his phone going off in his pocket.

Steve rolled out of the line of fire and flung his shield, hitting each of the turrets with focused precision, ending the battle simulation. Once that was over he reached into his pocket, having barely worked up a sweat.

“Rogers.” He answered, bending down to pick up the shield.

“Hey, Steve. It’s me.”

“Tony?”

“I need you to drop what you’re doing right now and meet me at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital.”

“What? Are you okay?” Steve queried, a flash of panic coursing through him at the urgency in Tony’s voice

“I’m fine. Nobody’s hurt, I promise. Can you just do this for me?”

Steve hesitated for a moment, but Tony sounded fine, and if any one of their team had gotten hurt he’s certain that Coulson would have alerted him immediately. “Yeah, no problem. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Awesome. See you later.”

Before Steve could get another word in, Tony had hung up on him, leaving him standing there dazed and confused, wondering why Tony needed him to go to the Burke Rehab center.

***

After a quick shower Steve changed into his usual attire of just a plain t-shirt and some jeans, throwing his worn, chestnut brown leather jacket over top. He opted to take his bike, making his way down to White Plains, still completely oblivious to whatever it was Tony needed him for.

He saw the brunet waiting by the front desk. Tony turned when he heard the automatic doors and the look of elation on his face just made Steve even more confused. People weren’t usually so happy to be in a hospital.

“What is it, what’s wrong?” He asked when Tony still didn’t tell him what was so urgent.

The brunet just smiled at him and motioned for him to follow down the hall. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Steve’s curiosity continued to grow, wondering what on earth the erratic billionaire was hiding up his sleeve.

He led him towards a secluded part of the building and held open a door, urging Steve to walk through it. Cautiously, he did, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw an old, frail looking woman resting in a hospital bed.

Old or young, Steve could recognize those bright hazel eyes anywhere.

His mouth nearly dropped to the floor, his heart twisting almost painfully in his chest as he took a hesitant step forward, certain that he must still be dreaming.

“Peggy?”

The woman lifted her head, an equal look of surprise on her face, old eyes tearing up at the sight of him. “Steve? Oh, it is you.”

She stretched her trembling hand out, and Steve stepped forward to take her spotted, wrinkled fingers in his own, holding onto them like something fragile that could break if he applied just the slightest bit of pressure.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” He choked, his voice small and heavy on his tongue.

Peggy looked at him, her smile wide and glowing as if she were reuniting with a long lost lover. “And I thought I’d never see you. I heard stories of the soldier who was found in the ice, but I thought my granddaughter was just being imaginative.” She laughed, a sniffle in her voice as a few tears rolled over her cheeks. “Oh, Steve. It’s so wonderful to see you again. You look exactly like you did 75 years ago.” She reached out and cupped his face, and Steve leaned into her touch. “I wish I could say the same for myself.”

Steve returned the smile, holding her small hand to his cheek. She was old and haggard now, but her eyes were still as fierce and strong as the woman he’d fallen in love with. “Even at 93 years old, I still think you’re beautiful.” He murmured.

She gave a breathy laugh, her fingers tracing the curve of his cheek. “I’m an old lady now.”

“Bet you could still take out a Hydra base single handed.”

She laughed again, retracting her hand and laid it across her stomach.

“I’m sorry I missed our date.”

Peggy smiled sadly, but her eyes were still soft and bright despite the cataracts that now clouded over them. “As am I.”

“You mentioned a granddaughter… guess you managed just fine without me.” He murmured, taking a seat by her bedside. There was no anger, or even disappointment in his voice. He was glad that Peggy had settled down with someone after the war.

She gave a slight nod of her head and hummed, eyes drifting closed briefly. “I married after the war. Had a son.” Peggy turned to him and smile fondly. “I named him Steven.”

Steve felt the slightest swell in his chest, honored that Peggy would name her only son after him. It was a bit odd to be someone’s namesake, but it felt nice none the less. “And your husband?” He asked cautiously.

“He passed a few years ago.”

Steve lowered his head. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Peggy just pursed her lips together and shook her head. “It’s fine, Steve. He was older than I am now. We can’t all live forever.”

Steve couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be old and fragile now if he hadn’t fallen in the ice. Or if he’d even still be alive. “So how was it? After the war.” He asked her.

Peggy remained silent as if she hadn’t heard him, a vacant expression in her pale, blue eyes. As a few moments ticked by without an answer, Steve shifted uneasily in his seat. More silence passed, and he reached out to gently touch her wrist.

“Peggy?”

The white haired woman twitched as if she’d just been jolted away from deep thought, dull eyes resting on Steve’s face. “Steve?” She breathed out.

Steve gently touched her hand again. “Yes Peggy. I’m here.” He whispered.

The old woman reached both hands out to cup his face, crystal eyes watering. “Steve. Oh, it’s really you. I can’t believe it.” She wept.

The soldier felt his blood run cold as her hands touched his cheek, and he jumped back from her like she was made of fire. Peggy called out to him as he turned on his heel and left the hospital room looking a mess, pressing his back against the wall just outside of the room, next to where Tony was waiting.

The brunet jumped into action when he saw the devastated look on his friend’s face, reaching out to steady him. “Hey, you alright? What happened?”

Steve furiously shook his head and leaned forward just the slightest, feeling sick to his stomach. “She remembered me, but then it’s like…it’s like she reset.” He explained, and caught the guilty look that crossed Tony’s face.

“Steve, I’m sorry. I should have warned you first.” Tony let out, his voice almost soothing.

Steve’s head snapped up, looking at him analytically. “What’s wrong with her? What is this place?” He demanded.

Tony pressed his lips together in a tight line, lifting a hand to push through his hair. “It’s a rehabilitation center, Cap. She’s got Alzheimer’s.” Tony picked up the questioning look Steve shot him and elaborated. “It’s a neurodegenerative disease. Basically she forgets things. Faces, names, entire memories. Her son stopped visiting because she couldn’t remember him.”

Steve straightened up, leaning against the wall. “So she…forgot about me?”

Tony glanced down towards his feet and crossed his arms. “It’s…complicated. Sometimes she forgets, but sometimes she’ll remember. It’s like you said, she just…resets.”

There was a heavy atmosphere as Steve let that sink in, but after a few minutes he seemed to get a grip on himself and pushed off of the wall. “I see.”

Tony reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder, the touch anchoring him. “I’m sorry. Really, I should have told you about her first. I was just hoping to avoid…well, this.”

Steve nodded his head, slowly tilting his head to look back at Tony. “No, it’s alright. I really appreciate this Tony.”

Steve reached out and pulled the billionaire into a loose hug, one arm locking around Tony’s shoulder as he moved his other to gently touch Tony’s lower back. “Thank you.” He whispered against his hair, the words tight and laced with an undealt with pain, but sincere.

Tony felt a hot tingle across his entirety when Steve pulled away, like someone had lit every hair on his body on fire. “Anytime.” He whispered back, still taking in the lifting effect of Steve’s embrace.

Steve offered a hesitant smile, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “If it’s alright I think I’ll stay here a bit longer. See if I can make any progress with her.”

Tony nodded his head. “Yeah, of course. Just let me know if you need anything.”

Steve gave him a final, gentle pat on the arm before turning around with a deep breath, carefully making his way back into the hospital room.

_Crap._

Tony thought as he stared at the closed door, his legs heavy as lead as his body refused to budge from that spot.

He was suddenly really missing those strong arms around him.

**Author's Note:**

> So that was the first installment. A slow beginning, I know, but I'm just trying to set things up properly and intros have never been my forte. I'll try to update on a semi-weekly basis, but I unfortunately have an adult life and can't always spend time writing. That, and I am a long time sufferer of extreme writers block. Any critiques or suggestions are very welcome, and I hope you'll stick around to see my little mind project unfold :)


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